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Aussies in IPL 2024 – Mitchell Starc blasts Mitchell Marsh flies home Jake Fraser-McGurk on fire
Starc is finally gaining momentum after an early struggle
Five games into the IPL, Mitchell Starc is starting to roll after taking 3 for 28 in Kolkata Knight Riders’ massive win over Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday night. Starc’s form has been the talk of the road after his expensive start to the tournament due to his huge price tag at the auction. But it is important to remember that he has not played T20 cricket since the 2022 T20 World Cup when the Australian selectors dropped him from the final match. He bowled some tough overs against LSG including three in the powerplay and the last over of the innings and had a big impact. He bowled 12 wickets off 18 deliveries in the powerplay and took the wicket of Deepak Hooda to stop LSG from a good batting line-up. His final conclusion was good. He hit the dangerous Nicholas Pooran and blasted off the stumps of Arshad Khan on the last ball. He conceded a single boundary, a consecutive top edge, and a single in the last over with another run coming in the leg bye as LSG managed to pass 161 for 7 before KKR chased that down in 15.4 overs. with eight wickets in hand. Starc said after the match that he is starting to return to the T20 bowling competition.
“T20 cricket; for guys who have played a lot of Test cricket, this is a lot easier physically,” he said. “It’s more [about] getting used to its strategic side. I haven’t played much T20 cricket in the last few years, so it’s taken me longer than I would have liked to get back into the rhythm of things and make a better impact. So today was good for that.”
Marsh heads home and anxiety grows
Mitchell Marsh is heading home to Perth after suffering a hamstring injury in the IPL and it is not known whether he will return to India before the T20 World Cup. Marsh has missed the last two games for Delhi Capitals after undergoing an injury assessment a week ago. He will head home to recover from the injury with Australian team coach Nick Jones also based in Perth. Meanwhile, Marsh’s Delhi counterpart David Warner was hit on the finger on Friday while trying to play a thigh over short leg. Warner is understood to have developed swelling and was examined when he arrived in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
There were also concerns over Glenn Maxwell’s right hand after he left the field and did not return during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s loss to Mumbai Indians last Thursday. Maxwell won the blow on the right-hander when he dropped a hot chance to Suryakumar Yadav at backward point. He suddenly felt pain and left the field holding his index and middle fingers. It is understood that Maxwell was tested that night in Mumbai and is being closely monitored ahead of RCB’s clash with Sunrisers on Monday night. RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat said on Sunday that Maxwell was “fine at the moment” and there was “no injury concern”.
Maxwell’s hitting woes continue, Green goes down
If the slapping wasn’t enough, Maxwell’s thrashing woes only added to the pain. He made his third duck of the tournament against Mumbai. After the extra pace of Mayank Yadav and Nandre Burger kept him unmoved in his last two matches, he surprisingly fell to Shreyas Gopal’s legspin against Mumbai when he was trapped and failed to pick the wrong one. Maxwell has 0, 3, 28, 0, 1 and 0 points in the tournament so far. There is still a long way to go in the IPL and plenty of time to get in touch before the T20 World Cup, which is also a long tournament that can have many fluctuations in form for each player. But he will be hoping to find some form soon to build confidence as he heads to the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, Cameron Green’s hopes of getting into Australia’s T20 World Cup squad have suffered another setback after being left out of RCB’s squad for the match against Mumbai. Green also failed to perform well with the bat and the ball in his first five games. He was successively relegated from number 3 to number 5. RCB opted to drop Green and replace Englishman Will Jacks at No.3 against Mumbai Indians without success. Unless Green can regain his place in RCB’s XI and put some performances on the board, it will be difficult for him to make Australia’s 15-man squad for the World Cup. His other chance would be if Marsh can’t recover from his hamstring injury.
Fraser-McGurk on fire on IPL debut
Another beneficiary of Marsh’s injury was Australian youngster Jake Fraser-McGurk who made a big statement in Delhi Capitals’ IPL debut when he hit 55 off 35 balls in their much-needed win over LSG. The 22-year-old had been deputizing for the much-maligned Lungi Ngidi during Delhi’s bowling woes but he restored Ricky Ponting’s faith in his abilities with a stunning innings that included five sixes. He hit his second six in the IPL and hit another three balls later and burst into the blocks. He slowed down after that and was 25 for 23 at one point but never panicked. He then showed that he can hit spin and pace, hitting Krunal Pandya for three consecutive sixes. Two of them were inside-out with spin over cover and away. His stand of 77 runs with Rishabh Pant was broken after the chase. Fraser-McGurk is still a fair way down the line for Australia’s top World Cup options. But if he makes his debut in the IPL and Australia have injury concerns around the tournament, he will be considered as a power-hitting option in the top order.
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